Shoe making apparatus



Dec. 22, 1964 M. S. BROMFIELD ETAL SHOE MAKING APPARATUS 8 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed March 6. 1962 De 22, 1964 M. s. BRoMFlELD ETAL 3,161,898

sHoE MAKING APPARATUS ATTORNEYS Dec. 22, 1964 M. s. BRoMFlELD ETAL 3,151,898

SHOE MAKING APPARATUS Filed March 6, 1962 8 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTORS MORTON S. BROMHELD JACK D. FERN- R BY L/ ATTORNEYS Dec. 22, 1964 M. s. BRoMFlELD ETAL 3,161,898

SHOE MAKING APPARATUS 8 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed March 6, 1962 FIG. 4

llllllllllllllllllllll Il INVENTORS MORTON s. BROMFIELD ACK D. FERN BY/ZW/a//M ATTORNEYS DCC- 22, 1964 M. s. BRoMFu-:LD ETAL 3,161,898

SHOE MAKING APPARATUS Filed March 6, 1962 8 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTORS` NIORTON S. BROMFIELD JACK D. FERNER ATTORNEYS DeC- 22, 1964 M. s. BRoMFlELD ETAL 3,151,898

SHOE MAKING APPARATUS Filed March 6, 1962 8 Sheets-Sheet 6 FIG. 6

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|43 D Llne INVENToRS tttf' WON -EstFELD BY 454%?, JM City Water ATTORNEYS SHOE MAKING APPARATUS 8 Shets-Sheet '7 Filed March 6, 1962 FIG. 7

INV EN TORS MORTON S. BROMFIELD J CK D. FERN'ER IMQ/M ATTORN EYS DCC 22, 1964 M. s. BROMFIELD ETAL 3,161,898

SHOE MAKING APPARATUS 8 Sheets-Sheet 8 Filed March 6, 1962 FIG. 8

INVENTORS S. BROMFIELD JMLQCIJRJODN FERN R NM, ,LM

ATTORNEYS United States Patent O 3,161,898 SHE MAKING APPARATUS Morton S. Bromiieid, S Hubbard St., Canton, Mass., and .lach D. -liieruer, Lowell St., Carlisle, Mass. Filed Mar. 6, 1962, Ser. No. 177,735 Claims priority, application Great Britain Apr. 28, 1961 Claims. (Cl. 12-1) Our invention relates to shoemaking, and particularly to improved apparatus for lasting and soling shoes.

In the manufacture of shoes, it is extremely important to limit the number of operators required, the time that the operators spend in performing operations other than those for which they are specially trained, and the number of operations which they must perform. In addition, the overall time required to manufacture a shoe should be kept as small as possible. Numerous improvements have been made in the past which expedite some of the operations required in shoemaking. For example, in United States Patent No. 2,973,531, filed September 3, 1959, by Morton S. Bromfield, for Method for Mulling Shoe Uppers, and issued March 7, 1961, an improved method of mulling uppers is disclosed which greatly reduces the time required for this operation.

In United States Patent No. 2,973,530, led May 4, 1959, by Morton S. Bromeld, for Method of Manufacturing Shoes, and issued March 7, 1961, an improvement in shoemaking is disclosed which consists essentially of introducing into the outer surface of a shoe upper just enough Water to increase the flexibility of the surface zone, lasting the upper before the water can pervade the central zone of the upper, and then heating the shoe to remove the water before it can penetrate the upper. Another improvement that has been made comprises the provision of conveyors for carrying lasts and uppers past the stations of the various operators and through the mullers, driers and other process equipment, as disclosed in United States Patent No. 2,940,094, tiled May 21, 1958, by Morton S. Bromfield, for Conveyor for Use in Manufacture of Shoes, and issued June 14, 1960. Finally, improvements have been made in the process of laying cemented soles, and, as is known to those skilled in the art, many other improvements have been made in the individual operations involved in the lasting and soling of shoes.

It is the object of our invention to manufacture shoes economically and efficiently by providing improved apparatus for utilizing and improving on the various unit operations necessary for lasting and cement soling. In accordance with our invention, the shoemaking process is visualized as a continuous one, rather than as a series of batch processes. The primary diiculty in embodying lthis concept is that the rate at which the various operations can be performed may differ widely, which results in stockpiling between operations and increased overall time required for the process, as Well as causing the required inventory of lasts and shoes to increase.

Basically, our invention is organized about the use of an improved conveyor for carrying the lasts, soles, uppers and various other shoe parts through the shoemaking process, which is at once economical and simple of construction, and yet is extremely iiexible in use, so that is is possible to implement any desired process by a modular approach to the use of the conveyor system of our invention.

In order to utilize a continuous system of shoemaking with economy and eiciency, so far as possible the unit operations requiring temperature or moisture control, or chemical processes, are made essentially automatic in operation and adjustable in rate of operation to match the rate at which the various human operators can elhciently perform their tasks. As will appear, an important contribution to the uniformity of action in the mulling process, which is carried out in the general manner disclosed in United States Patent No. 2,973,531 mentioned above, is made in the system of our invention by an improved muller construction which is adapted to be set to run automatically at any selected rate, so that the mulling operation requires no supervision and results in minimum rejections of uppers because of improper mulling, thermal damage, or water-spotting. An additional advantage of the novel muller of our invention is that it provides for predetermined diierent conditioning treatments of the outer and lining portions of the uppers.

In accordance with another aspect of our invention, the bed lasting process in shoemaking is greatly improved by the provision of a novel toe steamer which automatically conditions the toe portion of the lasted upper to facilitate lasting of the toe. Again, this process is made adjustable in rate so that an overall even process rate may be attained.

A third improvement in the system of our invention comprises the provision of an automatic drier for properly removing the moisture from the lasted uppers in accordance with the criteria set forth in the above-mentioned Patent No. 2,973,530. As Will appear, the opration of this drier is programmed so that moisture in the shoe is removed at the maximum rate without permitting the temperature of the upper torise suiiciently to cause embrittlement or cracking.

Another important improvement in the shoemaking process which is incorporated in the novel system of our invention is an improved cement activator for cemented soles and insoles, which permits these parts to be conditioned for sole laying at a rate which can be tailored to the other operations in the system so that a uniform overall ow rate is maintained Without stock-piling at any stage of the process.

A specific embodiment of the system of our invention to be described provides for the treatment of shoes having plastic uppers with essentially the same system as is employed for leather uppers, whereby plastic uppered shoes may be lasted and soled in the same efcient manner as leather shoes, but without ignoring the special properties of such uppers and the particular problems that are encountered in their use.

Our invention will best be understood by reference to the accompanying drawings, together with the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment thereof.

In the drawings,

FIGURE 1 is a schematic plan View of shoernaking apparatus embodying our invention;

FIGURE 2 is a diagrammatic illustration of a portion of the shoemaking apparatus of FIG. 1, showing details of the conveyor and drier system, and including a crosssectional elevation of the muller of our invention;

FIGURE 3 is a perspective View, with parts shown in cross-section and parts broken away, of the novel last and sole conveyor employed in the apparatus of FIG- URES l and 2;

FIGURE 4 is a cross-sectional end View through the novel toe steamer of our invention, also showing a crosssectional end view at a typical section of the novel last and sole conveyor of FIG. 3;

l FIGURE 5 is a typical section through the muller of FIG. 2, taken essentially along lines 5 5 of FIG. 2;

FIGURE 6 is a schematic Wiring and piping diagram showing the control apparatus for the muller of FIG. 2;

FIGURE 7 is a typical section through the novel drier employed in the apparatus of FIG. l; and

FIGURE 8 is a typical section through the novel activator unit employedin the system of FIG. 1.

n Referring first to FIG. l, we have shown a typical shoealencon E making operation, namel the manufacture of womens high heeled shoes. As will be apparent from the following description, by simple substitution of the appropriate manual operations, this process can readily be applied to the manufacture of mens or childrens shoes. rl`he invention is applicable to shoes of leather or of plastic material. The term shoes used herein is intended to cover all kinds of footwear, eg. boots, shoes, slippers or sandals.

In FIG. l, the stations of manual operators are indicated schematically by circles with appropriate labels, and it will be understood by those skilled in the art that these operators will be provided with the necessary benches, machinery and tools to perform their respective functions.

The central element in the shoemaking process of our invention is the conveyor, here schematically shown as a line 1 which is assumed to run in the direction of the arrows around drive sprocket 2, and idler sprockets 3, Il, 5, 6, 7 and 8. Before describing this conveyor in detail the overall lasting and soling process will be brieily described.

The iirst step in the portion of the shoemaking process here illustrated is the placement of lasts with insoles attached and cemented out-soles on the conveyor i, and the placement of associated stitched uppers on a conveyor belt at the entrance end of a muller 9S. These operations are performed by a put-on operator whose station is schematically indicated by the circle it). Depending on the material from which the uppers are made, these are taken either from a rack il of leather uppers which have been stitched at the heel, or from a vinyl preheater l2 for uppers of Vpolyvinylchloride or other plastic material.

At the exit end of the muller 9, one or more assemblers Y whose stations are schematically indicated by the circles i3 and 14 remove the mulled uppers emerging from the muller 9, remove the associated lasts from the conveyor l, and assemble each upper on the associated last with tacks. As lthe next operation, theV pullover operator, whose station is schematically indicated by the circle E5, performs the function of pulling the uppers over the lasts, in a conventional manner which is facilitated by the manner of mulling, as will appear. These operations are followed by the lastingl operations performed by side lasters and a forepart laster, whose stations are schematically indicated by the circles 16, 17 and 1S, respectively. The forepart laster, having completed his operation, places the partially lasted uppers on the conveyor 1 for travel through a toe steamer schematically indicated at l?.

As will appear, the toe steamer i9 is so controlled and arranged that in a rst portion, that their toes and their thermoplastic stilfeners are conditioned with heat and moisture sufliciently for bed lasting, and this condition is maintained without a substantial increase in moisture during the latter portion of the travel through the toe steamer i9. Thus, a first bed laster, whose station is schematically indicated by the circle En, may take, say, the rights, and a second bed laster, whose station is schematically indicated by the circle 20', can take the lefts, both rights and lefts being similarly and optimally conditioned for the lasting of the toe.

Following the bed lasting operation, a heel-seat laster whose station is schematically indicated by the circle 2l may tack in the heel seat in a conventional manner, and then place the lasted uppersk on the conveyor l for travel through an upper dryer schematically indicated at 22 which is divided into a plurality of sections, here shown as three sections 23, 24 and 25 for progressive controlled removal of the moisture in the uppers. As will appear, the speed of the conveyor and the controls for the muller 9 and the dryer 22 may be so adjusted that the shoemaking process disclosed in the above-mentioned Patent No.. 2,973,530 may be carired out with great eiciency and uniformity of results.

After the shoes have left the upper dryer 22, the excess portion of the overlasted uppers is removed by a trimmer and insole tack remover whose station isschematically indicated by the circle 2d, and the lasts then pass to an inspector and erowner, whose station is schematically indicated by the circle 27, who notes any defects, maires minor corrections, and puts aside shoes requiring major correction for further work. The shoes are then processed in the normal manner by a pounder located as schematically indicated by the circle 2S, a rougher located as schematically indicated by the circle 29, and a shanker, whose station is schematically indicated by the circle 3?.

Having performed his operation of inserting the shank, and where necessary or desirable, filling with cork cornposition or the like, the crevices which would otherwise interfere with the proper laying of the sole, the shanker places the lasted upper on the conveyor l in association with its outsole for travel through an oven generally designated at 31;. The oven is provided with one or more preheating units such as 32 and 33, which may be elongated heaters of conventional types, and which preferably do not provide heating throughout the entire run through the oven 3l, as less heating time is generally required in the pre-heating stage than in the subsequent drying stage. The function of these preheaters is to provide a reservoir of heat in the upper and sole which will serve to conditionthe inner portion of cement which is applied by a cementer stationed as schematically indicated by the circle 34. The cementer applies cement to the overlasted margin of the shoe bottom, the outsole having previously been coated with cement as described above, and then places these parts on the conveyor l for a second passage through the oven 3l, past a plurality of cement driers schematically indicated at 35, 36 and 37, which extend substantially over the entire length of the oven. Since this oven performs a conventional function, and need consist of only an open housing over the conventional mounting means for the conventional heating elements, it will not be described in futher detail. lt is suilicent to note at this point that the overlasted margins and outsoles emerging from the oven are coated with cement from which the solvent has been evaporated. These cemented parts will then be passed to the heel attacher, whose station is schematically indicated by the circle 38, and who, in the case of a womans shoe, attaches a heel to the heel seat with a temporary screw in a conventional manner. lf mens or childrens shoes, or flat-heeled .womens shoes arehto be manufactured, this operator may be dispensed wit The heel attacher places the lasts carrying the cemented uppers and the outsoles on the conveyor l for passage through an activator generally designated at 39 which comprises a sole activator liti and a shoe bottom activator 41. Arrangement of the various heating units within this activator 39 will be described below.

Following the activator 39, a sole layer, located as schematically indicated by the circle 416, removes the components from the conveyor l. and lays the cemented outsole on the cemented shoe bottom, and, in the case of the sole employed in womens shoes, over the breast of the heel. The finished shoes are then placed in a suitable rack 47 for last pulling and any other operations which may be necessary or desirable.

Referring now to FlG. 2, the conveyor l of FIG. l comprises a longitudinal guide member d which is supported at suitable intervals by pipe stands indicated at e9 and 5@ which are provided with floor caps such as 5l and 52 and channel engagement members ksuch as 53 and S4, respectively, of which the latter will be described in more detail below. Mounted for movement with respect to the guide channel 48 are a plurality of last and sole conveyors 55' for conveying lasts such as 75 and soles such as 9@ throughout the system.

Referring now to FIGS. 3 and 4, the construction of the guide channel i3 and the last and sole conveyor S5 are shown in more detail. As shown, the guide channel 48 is in the form of a generally U-shaped, elongated channel provided with horizontal support and bearing lugs S3 on either side of the inner portion thereof to support a block 59, which is preferably of nylon or the like, but may be of any suitable low friction material, and which forms a support for the last and sole conveyor 55. Upper lugs 69 are provided on the guide channel, as shown, to prevent the accidental removal of the block 59.

Sets of opposed lips 61, 62 and 63 are provided on the sides and bottom of the guide channel 4S, respectively, for use in attaching the guide channel to various other elements. For example, the lower lips 63 may be employed to engage the rim of a fitting 64 which is threaded into a pipe coupling 65, the latter being in threaded engagernent with a pipe such as 66 to form a pipe stand such as 49 and 50 in FIG. 2. Suitable washers of resilient material, as schematically indicated at 67, may be ernployed to permit a iirm engagement of the lips 63 with the upper flange of the iitting 64 without scoring of the bottom of the channel 4d by the coupling 65. it will be apparent that similar use of the lips 61 and 62 may be made to attach various accessories to the conveyor channel 4S.

The last and sole conveyor support block 59 is attached by suitable means such as screws GS to a bracket 69 welded on or otherwise attached to a link of a conveyor chain generally designated at 70. As best shown in FIG. 3, the conveyor chain 70 generally is of a conventional construction which will be readily understood without further description.

The various lasting operators may drop tacks around and about the conveyor, and unless removed, these may accumulate to an extent that damage to the conveyor may result. In order to remove these and other foreign objects, one or more paddles 71, of rubber or the like, as shown in FIG. 4, may be attached to a suitable bracket 72, which in turn is screwed to a lower link of the chain '7h in a suitable conventional manner. As will be apparent from the drawings, the paddle 71 will be swept along the base of the channel formed in guide member 48 to contact any foreign articles such as tacks 73 and convey them to a suitable disposal point, which may be located at any desired place along the conveyor by providing an aperture along the base of the channnel 4S through which they will fall.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the support block S9 of conveyor 55 is provided with side lugs 74 which engage the support lugs 58 of the guide channel 48 for longitudinal sliding support. As best shown in FIG. 4, a last 75 may be supported on the support blocks 59 by means of a post 76 which is threaded at one end and has its threaded end extending through a hole in the block 59, where it is secured by means of nuts 77 and 7S. A spring 79 surrounds the post 76 and extends between a washer S on nut 77 and a shoulder formed on a collar 81. Collar 81 is provided with a last support shelf 82 having upstanding portions 83 at the corners thereof for engaging the sides of the last 75 in either of four positions 90 apart. The collar 81 is retained on the post 76 against the force of spring 79 by a retaining ring 84, which may be of a conventional split construction engaging a groove on the post 76, not shown. By this construction,A it will be apparent that the last will be held in either of the two orthogonal positions normally required, but may be turned from one to the other of these positions by grasping the last 75 and turning it with a force suicient to overcome the friction between the collar and the spring 79 at one end and between the shelf 82 and the retaining ring S4 at the other end.

Associated with the last supporting post 76, and

-mounted on the support block 59, is a sole conveyor member generally designated at S which is bent over in the manner shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, being provided with a lug 86 for attachment to the block 59 by means of the post 76 and the nuts 77 and 78, as shown. An aperture 87 is provided at the upper part of sole carrier SS to permit free passage of the collar 31.

A sloping shelf portion 88 is formed on the other side of the sole conveyor S5, and a serrated base portion 89 extends along the bottom edge of the sloping shelf 88 as shown. Retaining clips for the sole, the latter being indicated by dotted lines 9i? in FlG. 4, are provided by a wire 91 which is bent as indicated in FIG. 3 to form a rst opstanding portion 92 which extends through a hole in the base portion 89 of the sole conveyor 8S, being retained by a clip 93, and is bent backwards and then bent again along the axis of the conveyor to forrn a portion 94 indicated by the dotted lines which engages a suitable groove 95 in the support block 59, past which it is bent again to form another upstanding portion 96 which is retained by clip 97 in the same manner as clip 93 retains the upstanding portion 92.

The portion 94 of the wire 91 is retained, as shown in FiGS. 3 and 4, by the lug S6 formed on the back portion of the sole conveyor S5. Preferably, the wire 91 is made of a thin material which will retain the sole and yet not interfere with the activation of cement thereon, such as 1/8 in. dia, stainless steel wire.

It will be apparent that by the above described construction, both the lasts and soles of a shoe may be progressed through the various shoernaking operations together, and yet be readily available to the operator, or accessible to the automatic equipment for processing.

Referring again to FIG. 2, the conveyor chain 7i) is driven by a drive sprocket 2, which in turn is driven through a suitable gear box 98 by a motor 99. Generally speaking, box 98 will be selected to provide a speed reduction such that the chain 70 will travel at approximately 6 feet per minute; of course, this speed may be varied widely for special operation, and is given merely as an indication of a typical speed suitable for the usual shoemaking operation.

As shown in FiG. 2, the idler 3 has attached thereto an auxiliary drive shaft 100, which, through suitable bevelled gears and an over-riding clutch, not shown, drives the drive roll 191 of the conveyor belt 102 for the muller generally designated at 9. In some instances, it will be desirable to run the muller conveyor for a time independently of the conveyor chain 70, as to remove uppers from the muller when the rest of the apparatus is shut down. For this purpose, as indicated, an auxiliary drive motor 1&3 may be provided to drive the motor 101 through the overriding clutch mentioned above. It is believed that this arrangement is suiciently conventional and obvious that it does not require detailed description.

The drive assembly, together with a pump 104 for the muller sprays, to be described, which is driven by motor 99, is mounted in a suitable housing 105, and conventional xneans schematically indicated as an upstanding bracket 1186, or other support means, are provided to support the muller above the conveyor 1. If desired, a separate drive motor can be provided for the pump 104.

The muller will be described by reference to FIGS. 2 and 5. However, before describing the muller in detail, its function will be briefly considered. As is known, in order to expedite the mulling process, it is desirable to mull the shoe uppers in a saturated atmosphere at a temperature between and 180 F., while applying a very fine spray to the uppers. One of the more important requirements in carrying out this process is the prevention of water droplets of appreciable size from falling on the upper, since such a droplet will cause staining which it is not practical to remove, and which ruins the appearance of the shoe. Thus, it is highly essential to prevent any dripping in the muller, as well as to avoid splashing from the conveyor or from the water tank, and to maintain the sprays in uniform operation during mulling so that they provide only a very tine mist of water droplets.

Again, it is very desirable that the time required by the muller to complete its operation be reduced to a minimum. In addition, it has been found quite difficult to maintain a suitable mulling mist in the muller by the continuous operation of spray nozzles. In part, this is because the use of sufficient spray to create a uniform mist will overmoisten the uppers if run continuously, whereas a smaller number of nozzles would not create the desired uniform atmosphere. Of course, the nozzles could be made smaller, but this would not be an effective expedient, both because the range of each nozzle would be decreased, and because a smaller nozzle is much more likely to fail through clogging, and to spray unevenly. We have attempted to overcome this difficulty by intermittent operation of the sprays, which desirably controls the amount of mist introduced, but raises la serious problem caused by afterflow of the nozzles as the pressure in the expanding lines feeding the nozzles is gradually relieved. As will appear, we have found an efficient means for eliminating this fault, so that the nozzles will shut off abruptly. By this means, we are able to control the :amount of sprayed moisture over Wide limits.

lt has been found that if the number and dimensions of the nozzles were selected for optimum continuous use for one particular type of` upper leather stock, the operations on other types of upper stock would not be satisfactory. It would of course be impractical to attempt to replace the nozzles every time a different type of upper stock was to be processed. However, by providing for pulsed or intermittent oper-ation, the desired adjustments can easily be made merely by varying the frequency and duration of the spray periods.

The control over the sprayed moisture makes possible a further improvement in the operation of the muller. We have found that the ratio between the surface moisture absorbed in the grain side of the upper and the moisture absorbed on the flesh, or corium, side, can be controlled by controlling the relationship between the amount of moisture introduced by steam from a water tank in the base of the muller and the amount of moisture introduced by the spray nozzles. Specifically, we have found that by increasing the relative amount of sprayed moisture, the grain side of the upper will be moistened proportionately more than the flesh side, whereas by increasing the relative amount of water vapor applied from the steam pipe, the reverse effect may be achieved. As will appear, the novel muller of our invention is operable to select any desired balance between the moisture applied to the surface of the grain side and the moisture applied to the flesh side of the upper.

In the earlier patents previously referred to we speak of providing a substantially 100% relative humidity in the muller. This is achieved primarily by an elevated mulling temperature, which according to the psychosornetric charts, shows a disproportionate increased ability of heated air to hold moisture. Secondarily, warm moisture is mechanically sprayed on to the upward facing surface of the leather uppers. In the horticultural field it has been found that leaf structures are aided in growth by supersaturated atmospheres; whereas such atmospheres have been created by elevating temperatures it had been thought that heat was essential to the accelerated growth. However, super-saturation has proved to be the key element and it is this super-saturation which has been found to be an important factor to accelerated moisture absorption by leather from a super-saturated atmosphere. This super-saturation is best achieved by using a high pressure, for example in excess of 150 lb./sq. in., absolute in combination with spray nozzles capable of producing a finely atomized spray or mist.

Whereas leather has generally some thermo-plastic properties advantage can best be taken of these characteristics to obtain optimum workability by introducing as hot a sprayed mist as can be mechanically introduced without the danger of creating flashes of steam. To this end, in accordance with the invention relatively cold pressurized water is heated at the closest point to the spray formation so as to eliminate the difficulties of creating steam under high pumping pressures as well as to minimize the temperature drop beyond the point of heating. Therefore, there is provided a means of heating pressurized water at or near the point of atomization with a minimal line volume of pressurized heated water.

Referring next to FIGS. 2 and 5, the muller 9 comprises an outer cylinder shell lo?, which may be made of any suitable material, but which, in accordance with a preferred embodiment of our invention, is made 0f a fiberglass filled resin. An inner shell 10S, which may be made from the same material as the outer shell, and has a cross-section of the type shown in FIG. 5 for reasons which will appear, is disposed within the outer shell. The space between shells 1&7 and 108 is filled with an insulating and structural support composition 109, which may be selected from a wide range of material, but which is preferably of polyurethane foam.

1n order to maintain a uniform atmosphere in the muller, and to conserve heat and moisture, the muller is provided at the ends with closure plates and 111, which may be provided with suitable apertures, not shown, to permit the uppers to pass in Iand out of the muller. As shown, the conveyor belt 102 is inclined downwardly as it emerges from the muller at each end, the entrance end being surrounded by a housing 112 and the exit end being surrounded by ia housing 113 opening into the bottom of the muller tunnel. A steam trap is formed in the upper portion of the ends of the muller tunnel by this arrangement, since the steam tends to rise and will not escape through the openings so provided.

The conveyor belt N2 passes between the drive roll 101, described above, and an idler roll 114 located in housing 112. intermediate its ends, the conveyor belt is supported by suitable rolle-rs 115 land 116 for the upper run of the belt, and 117 and 113 for the lower run of the belt. ln between these rollers 115 through 113, the upper run of the belt is supported by slider rails 119, and the lower run of the belt is supported by slider rails 12d, also shown in FIG. 5. The belt 102 may be of openwork construction, comprising strips of metal laid edgewise, each provided With a series of 90 bends intersecting bends in the adjacent strips, and hinged on wires passed through the intersecting bends in a manner Well known to those skilled in the art, such that the resultant belt is a thick screen having approximately a l inch mesh and approximately S0 percent voids. Referring to FIG. 5, the upper slider rails 119 rest on a line screen 121, which may be in the form of a relatively thin sheet of Mon-el metal perforated with approximately 625 holes per square inch, and having approximately 20 percent voids,.which is provided to prevent splashing from the water tank that might damage the uppers on the upper run of the belt 102. Screen 121 and slider rails 119 may be supported by angle brackets 122, a suitable number of which may be located along the length of muller 129. The lower run of belt 192 is supported by slider rails 12u, which are spot welded to angle brackets 123, a suitable number of Which are located along the length ofthe slider rails.

A supply of water, which may be provided by a line 12,4 or by other suitable means, is m intained in the bottom of the tank to a `level approximately indicated at 125 in FIG. 5 by an entrance end dam 126 and an exit end darn 127. As shown in FIG. 2, entrance dam 12e may be apertured for attachment of a drain pipe 128 and an overflow pipe 129.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 5, a source of steam comprising perforated pipes 130 is provided in the Water tank defined by the dams 125 and 127 and the bottom of the inner wall 16S. As shown in FIG. 5, the perforations of pipes 13d are preferably directed downwardly and inwardly, to prevent undue cavitation of the water. The pipes may be secured in the bottom of the tank by any suitable means such as brackets 131 located at convenient distances along the bottom of the tank. As suggested in FIG. 2, the pipes 13@ may he connected to a supply line 132, and the supply of steam may be controlled by any suitable device such as a control valve 133.

The steam supply pipe 130 provides a source of moisture for the muller, this source being equally effective in moistening both surfaces of the uppers placed on the upper run of belt 102. A second source of moisture, which is more effective in moistening the upper surface of the uppers, is provided by spray nozzles 134 disposed along the length of the mullet tunnel. These nozzles 134 are connected by relatively short, rigid supply pipes 135 of relatively small diameter to an external supply of hot water, which will be described more fully in connection With FIG. 6. As shown in FIG. 5, the pipes 135 are directed upwardly, to cause a finely divided mist of hot water to first rise in the muller and then fall gently on the uppers. As shown in FIG. 2, the pipes 135 are also directed longitudinally along the tunnel in oppositely disposed pairs, to provide an even distribution of the iine spray along the tunnel. The function of the opposite longitudinal orientation of the nozzles is to` prevent a net pressure drop from developing which would cause a net ow of gases through the mul-ler, an obviously undesirable elfect. In order that the moisture be directed toward variously inclined surfaces of the uppers, rather than falling vertically, we may provide in the muller enclosure a paddle wheel, as shown in FIG. 2, which may be rotated at an appropriate speed to cause turbulent agitation of the moist atmosphere in the muller.

We have found that it is extremely important to prevent condensed moisture on the walls of the muller from dripping down on the uppers. In many instances, the pigments used to color the leather will absorb water drops to cause stains which cannot be removed. In addition, such preferentially moistened spots have different lasting properties than the drier spots, leading to difficulty in later operations. In order to prevent this spotting from occurring, the upper portion of the inner shell 108 of the muller is made of triangular cross section, in the form of an inverted angle forming an apex 136, at the top, and preferably in the vert-ical plane of the longitudinal center line, of the dryer, and having outwardly inclined fiat walls 137 and 138 which direct any condensed moisture along paths on the walls of the dryer to the water tank. This construction has the additional advantage of greatly reducing the volume of the muller tunnel, which minimizes the time required to change the process condition in the muller, making it possible to run uppers of different materials successively without undue delay. While the walls 137 and 13S may be made of any suitable material which wiil be impervious to water and which is wet thereby suficiently to retain the runlets on the surface, as noted above, these walls are preferably made of fiber glass filled resin in a preferred embodiment of the invention.

Referring now to FIG. 2, the end plates 110 and 111 are provided with conduits 139 and 140 which run across their widths and are connected at one side, which is at a lower elevation than the other side, to auxiliary conduits 141 and 142 which direct the condensate back to the tank. In this manner, any dripping on the uppers as they enter and leave the muller is prevented.

As disclosed in the above-mentioned Patent No. 2,973,531, it is desired to produce an essentially saturated atmosphere in the muller at a temperature between 140 and 180 F. This atmosphere is maintained by the spray nozzles 134 and the steam supply line 130 as described.

lWe have found that, as pointed out above, a desirable balance between the moisture in the upper and lower surfaces o-f the uppers can be provided by adjusting the ratio of spray to steam, and in accordance with our present invention we provide improved apparatus for controlling this ratio without introducing undesirable dripping from the spray nozzles. Referring now to FIG. 6, the control apparatus for the spray nozzles 134 of the muller 9 is shown. Referring now to FIG. 6, Water from a suitable supply, such as a city Vwater main, not shown, is supplied to an intake pipe line 143 in a conventional manner. Preferably, a conventional pressure regulator 144 is provided in line 143 to provide a constant input pressure, since otherwise the output spray pressure would be variable. To protect the spray control apparatus, it is also desirable to provide a tilter 145 in the line 143. Following the lilter 145 is the pump 104, which is driven from :the motor 99 as schematically indicated in FIG. 2, or by a separate motor as previously mentioned. This pump raises the pressure to a Suitable high value, such as 500 pounds per square inch. The output of the pump 104 is connected in parallel to spray supply line 146 and a relief line 147. Relief line 147 has connected therein a pressure relief valve 14S which is set to bypass the pump output to the overllow and drain line 129 when the pressure exceeds 500 pounds per square inch. Desirably, a check valve 149 is provided in the supply line 146 to prevent backfiow. Downstream of the check valve 149, a pressure gauge 150 may be mounted to provide a visual indication of the condition of the apparatus.

A conventional wetting agent injector 151 is provided in the line 146 to inject a small amount of wetting agent to the water supply for surface tension control, optionally as desired. The injector 151 may be of a conventional type including a suitable pump, of the sort used in automatic washing machines.

Following the wetting agent injector 151, a pressure accumulator 152 may be included in the line to provide -a reservoir when the nozzles are open and to protect against surging. Following the accumulator is a first control valve generally designated at 153. This Valve is controlled by a solenoid 154 conventionally shown as comprising an 'armature 155 and a control winding 156. We have shown control valve 153, which may be of any suitable commercially available design, in terms of a simple convention adopted for its graphic simplicity. According to this convention, the valve is shown as a pair of blocks 157 and 15S, the latter normally being held in the line by a spring 159, and being shown blank to indicate that it prevents iiow. The block 157 is brought into the line when the solenoid 154 is energized, and permits flow in the direction of the arrow.

Following the first control valve 153 in the supply line is a conventional immersion heating unit generally designated at 160 and provided with a temperature control generally designated at 161. By this means, the temperature of the water in the supply line is brought to the desired operating temperature of the muller. Connected between the first control valve and the spray nozzles 134 is a drain line 162 having at least one portion somewhat above the highest level of the water in the supply and provided with a second control valve 163 controlled by a solenoid 164. In accordance with the same convention as used to show valve 153, valve 163 is normally open, and is closed when solenoid 164 is energized.

Solenoids 154 and 164 are controlled over a common circuit including a lead 165 which extends to the wiper arm 166 of a flow cycle timer schematically indicated at 167. This timer comprises a disc 168 which is mounted for relative rotation with respect to wiper 165 and for relative rotation with slif'ht friction with respect to the support means, indicated schematically by the dashed line rectangle. A pair of adjustable stop members 169 and 170 are mounted on the periphery of the disc in desired positions which can be changed by manipulation of set screws securing the projections to the disc. The disc is also provided with a fixed projection 171 which is attached through a conventional linkage, not shown, but indicated schematically by the dotted line, to control a pair of contacts generally designed at 173,

Mounted on disc 1655 is a conductive segment 174 which makes electrical Contact with the wiper 166 over a desired portion, which may be of the rotation of the wiper on the disc. Conductive segment 174 is connected over a lead 1'75 and a switch 176 to one terminal of suitalternos l "l able source of voltage such as a battery l77, the other terminal of which is grounded as shown.

Wiper lido is driven. by the shaft 178 of a suitable reversible valternating current motor H9, which has one winding reversibly connected over switch E73 and through a switch 13? to a suitable source of voltage, such that motor 78 will be rotated in one direction or the other depending on the position of switch E73. As shown, the motor 99 is interloclred with the motor 179 by parallel connection across its supply lines on the load side of the switch 180. Switch i8@ is ganged for simultaneous operation with switch R76 by means schematically indicated at Edil, and which are adapted for manual actuation in a conventional manner.

in the operation of the apparatus of FlG. 6, when means lSl is actuated to close switches 176 and lith, the motor 99 will operate to move conveyor belt ld?, and to drive pump ldd. Assuming that the valves i533 and E63 are initially in the positions shown, closure of switch R76 will complete a circuit for the energizing of soienoids 154 and lod to open valve l?, and close valve M3. Water under pressure will then be supplied to the heater and thence to the spray nozzles ifi-t. This action will continue while wiper lied rotates counter-clockwise on disc o until the wiper 166 strikes the projection M9, driving the disc l'o counter-clockwise and causing projection vl7l to throw switch E73 to its opposite position, which Will reverse the motor 179. The motor will then run in the opposite direction until wiper lod moves off of control segment 1.74-, which will deenergize solenoids idd and lofi, to cause valve l to close and valve lr6?) to open. The opening of valve i163 will instantaneously relieve the pressure built up the supply lines to the spray nozzles such that the spray will immediately shut off without dripping. it might appear at hrst sight that the relative inconipressibility of the water in a closed system would prevent aiter-ilow at the nozzles. However, this is not the case, because at the high pressures employed in mulier spraying, in vaccordance with our invention, the material of which the lines are made expands suiiiciently to provide a substantial reservoir of high pressure water, which would be relieved only gradually through the spray nozzles. Thus, the valve *L53 performs an important function, and makes possible the control of the amount of Water sprayed. lt will be `apparent that the relative proportions, as well as the overall period ot the spraying cycle, can be adjusted at will by suitable movements or projections i5@ and i7@ on the disc lod. ln combination with adjustment of the steam supply valve E33, these adjustments make it possible to exert control, over a wide range, of the mulling temperature and of the ratio of upper surface moisture to lower surface moisture absorbed by the mulle uppers.

Referring now to FIG. 4, the novel toe steamer l@ of our invention will next be described. As shown, the toe steamer 19 comprises an outer housing M2 secured to a suitable support 153, which may in turn be secured to lips 6l of guide channel 43, if so desired. The toe steamer is provided with an angular inner plate E84 to direct condensate back to the box 5.85 and away from the last, which is assumed to be in position on last 75. The angles of pitch of the angular plate ld must be so chosen that condensation will be carried along the surfaces or" the plate and not fall from the surface. it has been found that the angles of the plates to the horizontal should not be less than 30 to 35 depending upon the characteristics of 'surface tension and viscosity in a given mulling atmosphere and temperature. Conveniently, the angle plate is bent to an vangle of 90 and is arranged in the housing 182 symmetrically about the vertical. This arrangement provides a 45 pitch. A gutter iddo is provided at the forward edge of the plate ld to collect and drain away the condensate. Within the toe steamer, a steam box i855 provided with an apertured lid-186 encloses a steam pipe 87 which is located on one side of a baille 38. The

steam box is partly illed with water, as indicated in the drawing, to cover the pipe 137. The pipe 187 is perforated to allow steam to escape in a bailled manner which will prevent spraying, and so as to pass through the water in the steam box 18S, to insure that the steam is wet and not dry, since hot dry steam might injure the uppers. Referring to FIG. l, the apertures in pipe i557 may be graduated along the length of the toe steamer i9 such that a major proportion of the steaming is done in the first portion of the steamer, such that all of the toes are adequately steamed by the time that they reach the irst bed lasting station Ztl in FG. 1. Less steam is provided in the remainder of the apparatus, so that the stage of conditioning reached at the iirst bed lasting station 12@ is maintained without change until the lasts reach the iinal bed lasting station Ztl. in addition to the graduation of the holes in the steam pipe E57, an additional steam pipe or pipes may be provided in the iirst portion of the steamer and controlled by individual valves, not shown, to obtain a suitable balance between the conditioning effected by the two portions of the steamer.

Referring now to FliG. 7, we have shown `(somewhat diagrammatically) a typical cross section through the upper dryer 22 of our invention. As shown, the dryer 22 comprises an inner shell i559, an intermediate shell 1% and an outer shell E91. The space between shells 190 and @i may be iilled with insulation 2.116 of the type employed in the muller, and the shells themselves may be made of the same material as employed in the muller. The lasts '.75 conveyed by the conveyor 55 through guide channel i3 will pass throughthe dryer, such that the last is approximately centered, although the center line of the guide channel 48 is displaced somewhat, as shown. The dryer is supported by plates 192 bonded to blocks 193 formed integral with the inner shell l89. Plates 192 are in turn secured to channel 48 through intermediate members 194 which are welded together and provided with lugs mating with the lips of the guide channel 48 as sufficiently shown in FIG. 7.

A plurality of elongated heaters MS are dispo-sed about the inner periphery of the inner shell lib? as shown, such that they irradiate the shank of the uppers without appreciable heat being applied to the insole portion of the lasted shoe, or to the outsole carried on the side of conveyor 55. Each of the heaters 95 may comprise a conventional quartz heating unit including a retlector 196 and a heatling element i9?, although any other suitable conventional heating element may be employed if so desired.` Referring to FlG. l, these heating units are divided into three sections 23, 2f?, and Z5. The group of heaters 23 are operated at a relatively high temperature, since a large quantity of heat can be absorbed in elevating the temperature of the moisture without damage to the uppers through overheating. The intermediate set of dryers 24 is operated at a lower temperature, which ideally is selected to just maintain a constant drying temperature for the uppers to remove the bulk of the moisture. However, in practice, the variability of sizes, colors, patterns, leathers and ot er factors recommends a setting of this second group below the ideal and thus warranting the provision of the third group of heatersv'ZS. The last group 25 of heaters is set at a relatively low temperature which is so determined that the uppers are heated little beyond the point at which their surface temperature begins to rise above the constant drying temperature which Yis maintained as long as they have moisture at the surface. Thus, this unit may besuch that, while driving out the last or" the moisture, it will prevent the uppers from rising to a temperature that might be harmful to the finish or the leather.

Referring again to FIG. 7, constant circulation of air to promote uniform drying` is maintained in the dryer 22 by one or more axial fans 193 mounted on the upper portion of the dryer and discharging air upward through an aperture wg which is elongated and extends along the 'i3 top ofinner shell 189. Cooling air enters the dryer through the ports 201 spaced at appropriate intervals along its bottom, the ports 201 being, in effect, continued through the space between the shells 189 and 190 by lonthe lasted shoe in the event of a stoppage of the conveyor, it being understood that when the conveyor stops, the quartz heaters are automatically turned off. Otherwisethe lasted shoes would be exposed -to the radiant heat `energy for an excessively long time. The fans 198, of course, continue to operate whenever the conveyor is stopped. There may not be any moisture buildup which would cause condensation in this system, because of the temperature in the unit and the relatively small amount of vmoisture in the shoes, at least under the usual length of run. However, if condensation becomes a problem it may readily be alleviated by permitting makeup air to leak around the guide channel 148, and by providing for the removal of the moist air through ports 202, which can be controlled by suitable adjustable baiiies 203 as sug- 'gested in FIG. 7.

Referring now to FIG. 8, the activator unit 39 of our invention comprises a shoe bottom activator portion 41 having a suitable housing ,204 connected by a suitable support diagrammatically indicated at 205 connected to the lips 61 of the guide channel 48. A housing 206 for the outsole activator 40 may be connected either to the lower lips or the other side lips of the guide channel 43. As here shown, it is connected to the bottom lips 63 by means of a suitable fitting 207 sufficiently illustrated in 208.

Turning first to the outsole activator unit 40, the sole indicated by dotted lines 90 is irradiated by a heating unit 45, here shown as comprising an elongated enclosure 208 provided with a double reiiector 209 and secured to the housing 206 by any conventional means through intermittent heat insulation 210, and a pair of elongated quartz heating bulbs 211 mounted within the retiectors.

Referring now to shoe bottom activator portion 41 of the activator 39, this comprises a plurality of elongated quartz heating units 42, 43 and 44, which operate preferably at a lower temperature than the outsole activating unit, and which are secured to the upper housing 204 by means of suitable slotted brackets 212, 213 and 214 for adjustment in the direction of the arrows as shown. Unit 42, as shown in FIG. 1, extends substantially the length of the activator and performs the most demanding activating operation, that on the forward portion of the overlasted margin. Activator unit 43 is shorter, and performs the less demanding operation of conditioning lthe shank. of the insole. Unit 44 may be quite short, since it need only condition the cement on the breast of the heel.

It will be apparent that in the operation of the cement activator of FIG. 8, the heat activating operation is efiiciently and rapidly performed, without any risk of overheating portions of the shoe or sole which require less heating treatment than the other portions.

Referring again to FIG. 1, where it is desired to make shoes having synthetic plastic uppers, for example of polyvinylchloride or the like, certain variations in the process of our invention may be made. Specifically, the plastic does not require moisture for last conditioning, but is conditioned by heat alone. Moreover, these uppers are in some cases as susceptible to staining by water spots as are leather uppers. However, the plastic uppers are frequently lined with cloth or other material which is more easily lasted after mulling with both heat and moisture. In order to adapt the process of our invention to meet these requirements, the plastic uppers are first heated in the vinyl preheater 12 shown schematically in FIG. 1. This preheater can be of any conventional design, suitable to perform the function of heating the plastic uppers to a temperature above the muller temperature, so that condensation on the uppers will not occur in the muller. The preheated uppers are then placed in the muller 9 lining side uppermost, so that the linings may be mulled in the usual way with heat and moisture, the latter being supplied primarily by the spray nozzles 134, while the plastic uppers will be heated, but not moistened. The rest of the process may be carried out in the same way as described above for leather uppers.

As previously stated, it is an important feature of the improved method of shoe manufacture to subject the uppers to rapid drying after mulling to remove the excess moisture therefrom as quickly as possible. Due to the rapid turn around of lasts in the system of the invention moisture may remain in the last. This may not only affect the rapid drying of the uppers but also the shape and/or dimensions of the last. According to a further aspect of the invention means are provided for preheating or warming the lasts before the uppers are placed thereon. Al-

though not shown in the drawings, the last warmers or preheaters may conveniently be provided below the muller to direct heat on the lasts 75 as they are brought along on the conveyor chain 70 (FIG. 2). Any suitable heating means may be provided for this purpose.

Having thus disclosed our invention what we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. Control apparatus for intermittent high pressure spraying to maintain a uniform atmosphere of atomized uid in a chamber, comprising a spray nozzle in said chamber, a supply line connected to said nozzle, a pump connected between said supply line and a supply of uid and operable when actuated to supply Huid under pressure to said nozzle, a first control valve connected in said sup- `ply line between said pump and said nozzle, a drain line having a portion at a higher elevation than said supply and connected to said supply line between said first control valve and said nozzle, a second control valve connected in said drain line, actuating means for said control valves operable between a first condition in which said first valve .is open and said second valve is shut and a second position in which said iirst valve is shut and said second valve is open, means operable when actuated for periodically operating said actuating means between its first and second conditions, and means for simultaneously actuating said last named means and said pump.

2. Control apparatus for a shoe upper muller provided with pressure spray nozzles and a Water tank in which a source of wet steam is mounted, comprising, means for controlling the supply of steam, means operable when actuated to supply hot water under pressure to said nozzles, and means for programming the actuation of said water supply means comprising a drain valve for releasing the pressure behind said nozzles, a supply valve for admitting water under pressure to said nozzles, adjustable timing means for alternately opening said supply valve and closing said drain valve and closing said supply valve and opening said drain valve, and means for adjusting said timing means and said steam control means, whereby a predetermined relation can be maintained between the moisture introduced into said muller by said steam source and said spray nozzles to achieve a predetermined differential between the moisture absorbed in the opposite surfaces of uppers passing through said muller.

3. Means for supplying a controlled amount of atomized hot water to a shoe upper muller, comprising, a plurality of spray nozzles adapted to be mounted in the tunnel of a muller, supply pipes connected between said nozzles and a common supply line, a rst control valve in said common line, a drain line connected between said supply valve and said supply pipes in said supply line, a second control valve connected in said drain line, means 'for continuously actuating said timer to provide periodic on and oif times, means controlled by said timer for opening said first control valve during said on time and closing Yit during said ofi time, and means controlled by said timerfor opening said second control valve during said oi time and closing it during said on time, whereby said spray nozzles are periodically operating at full capacity and completely shut oi with a minimum of intermediate operation. v

4. In a muller, an elongated tunnel comprising a water tank in a lower portion and an upper portion in the form of an angle having an apex at the top, whereby moisture condensing on the upper walls of the tunnel is directed back to the tank along the walls of the tunnel without dripping, plates partially closing the end of the tunnel to help prevent the escape of moisture therefrom, and conduits along the inner wallsy of the'plates disposed to conduct water condensing on the walls of the end plates to the water tank without dripping.

Vfrom splashing up through said upper run, means for supplying steam to said water tank below the level of said water, plates partially closing each end of said tunnel to help prevent the escape of moisture therefrom, steam traps surrounding the ends of said conveyor belt to help prevent the escape of moisture therefrom, an upper wall for said tunnel comprising a downwardly facing angle providing outwardly sloping walls to conduct condensed moisture to the tank without dripping, conduits mounted on said end plates to conduct condensed moisture to said tank with out dripping, and spray nozzles for injecting hot nely divided particles of water upward in said tunnel and longitudinally thereof, said nozzles being arranged in longitudinally opposed pairs to prevent the establishment of a pressure gradient along said tunnel.

6. Means for maintaining a mulling vapor in a mulling chamber, comprising, a chamber, a water tank located in the bottom of said chamber, perforated steam lines in said water tank, a fine screen located above said steam lines,

a plurality of high pressure spray nozzles in said chamber directed upwardly and, in pairs, in opposed horizontal directions, said nozzles being suiiicient in number to prolvide a uniform mist in said chamber when operated, means for cyclically operating and shutting off said nozzles, means actuated by said last named means for relieving the pressure behind said nozzles when shut off, and means. in

said chamber for directing condensing vapors to said water lei ytank along paths coniined to the walls of said chamber.

7. A toetsteamer for conditioning the toes of partially lasted uppers for toe lasting, comprising, an elongated housing having an opening to receive the toes of partially Vlasted uppers passing adjacent said housing, a radiator plate for directing heat toward said toes, a steam box in said housing, means for generating wet steam in said steam box, and means for directing wet. steam toward the toes of shoes extending through said opening.

v 8. A toe steamer for conditioning the toecaps of partially lasted uppers for toek lasting, comprising, an elongated housing having an opening to receive the toes of partially lasted uppers passing adjacent said housing, a radiator plate for directing heat toward said toes, a steam box in said housing, a perforated baille in said housing, a perforated steam pipe on one side vof said baie, and a lid for said steam box perforated on the other side of said baiiie.

9. A toe steamer for conditioning the toe caps of partially lasted uppers for toe lasting, comprising an elongated housing having an opening to receive the toes of partially lasted uppers passing along said housing, said housing comprising a first portion, and a second portion along which bed lasters are to be stationed, means for supplying steam to said first portion in an amount suiiicient to condition the toes for toe lasting, and means for supplying steam to said second portion in an amount sufcient to maintain the condition of the toes reached in the first portion.

10. A shoe muller, comprising, in combination, an

`elongated mulling tunnel, a conveyor belt mounted in said tunnel for carrying shoe uppers therethrough, said belt having apertures to permit the passage of water therethrough, a water tank mounted below said belt in said tunnel, a screen mounted between said belt and said water tank and having openings suiiciently small to prevent lsplashing from said tank into the tunnel, a plurality of high pressure spray nozzles mounted in and along said tunnel and directed upwardly at oblique angles with the .plane of said belt and, in mutually opposed pairs, means for diverting condensed water in said tunnel to said tank along paths confined to the walls of said tunnel, and heating means in said water tank for providing a flow of wet steam into said tunnel.

References tilted in the ile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,659,503 Vachon Feb. 14, 1928 1,689,631 Jennings Oct. 30, 1928 2,443,877 Vacin June 22, 1948 2,460,940 Maeser Feb. 8, 1949 2,633,583 Maeser et al. Apr. 7, 1953 2,662,964 Simms Dec. 15, 1953 A2,940,094 Bromiield June 14, 1960 2,973,530 Bromfield Mar. 7, 1961 2,973,531 Brornield Mar. 7, 1961 

2. CONTROL APPARATUS FOR A SHOE UPPER MULLER PROVIDED WITH PRESSURE SPRAY NOZZLES AND A WATER TANK IN WHICH A SOURCE OF WET STEAM IS MOUNTED, COMPRISING, MEANS FOR CONTROLLING THE SUPPLY OF STEAM, MEANS OPERABLE WHEN ACTUATED TO SUPPLY HOT WATER UNDER PRESSURE TO SAID NOZZLES, AND MEANS FOR PROGRAMMING THE ACTUATION OF SAID WATER SUPPLY MEANS COMPRISING A DRAIN VALVE FOR RELEASING THE PRESSURE BEHIND SAID NOZZLES, A SUPPLY VALVE FOR ADMITTING WATER UNDER PRESSURE TO SAID NOZZLES, ADJUSTABLE TIMING MEANS FOR ALTERNATELY OPENING SAID SUPPLY VALVE AND CLOSING SAID DRAIN VALVE AND CLOSING SAID SUPPLY VALVE AND OPENING SAID DRAIN VALVE, AND MEANS FOR ADJUSTING SAID TIMING MEANS AND SAID STEAM CONTROL MEANS, WHEREBY A PREDETERMINED RELATION CAN BE MAINTAINED BETWEEN THE MOISTURE INTRODUCED INTO SAID MULLER BY SAID STEAM SOURCE AND SAID SPRAY NOZZLES TO ACHIEVE A PREDETERMINED DIFFERENTIAL BETWEEN THE MOISTURE ABSORBED IN THE OPPOSITE SURFACES OF UPPERS PASSING THROUGH SAID MULLER. 